Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
35
There are different ways to understand and practice Stoic philosophy, and this is true not just for the differences between ancient and modern Stoicism, but even within ancient Stoicism itself. After all, the philosophy evolved over a course of more than five centuries from Zeno of Citium to Marcus Aurelius, and it is still evolving […]
over a year ago

Improve your reading experience

Logged in users get linked directly to articles resulting in a better reading experience. Please login for free, it takes less than 1 minute.

More from How to Be a Stoic

Welcome!

Welcome to How to Be a Stoic! It began back in March ’15 as a blog to track my personal journey into modern practical Stoicism. The blog has now moved to Patreon and I hope you will follow me there. However, the full archive of 425 posts and a whopping 4,600 comments will remain permanently […]

over a year ago 38 votes
Stoics should be vegetarian

Vegetarianism is a big deal, ethically speaking. It was put on the map in terms of public philosophy by utilitarian Peter Singer, with his landmark Animal Liberation, published back in 1975. In truth, utilitarians have been very clear on the subject from the beginning. The founder of the approach, Jeremy Bentham, famously said that when […]

over a year ago 36 votes
Stoic Q&A: can virtue justify evil?

[Feel free to submit a question for this column, addressing it at massimo at howtobeastoic dot org.] V. writes: My question is: can Stoic virtues be used as excuses to conduct evil deeds? I’m asking this question for several reasons. First, in the current political climate, the term “loyalty” frequently comes up and is often […]

over a year ago 38 votes
Stoic advice: my friend is a jerk, what do I do?

[Feel free to submit a question for this column, addressing it at massimo at howtobeastoic dot org. However, consider that I have a significant backlog, and I may not get to your question for some time, or at all.] M. writes: My friend has been an avid member of the Red Pill community for the […]

over a year ago 37 votes

More in life

random scenes and words from taichung

Taichung was an easy one hour high speed rail ride from Taipei. Again I have to mention that being from a country that is 50km wide, the idea that one can take...

8 hours ago 4 votes
Sunday Update: Gratitude, Growth, and Friends

A break from our usual programming...

5 hours ago 2 votes
Heading out for long service leave

I’m heading off for a long service leave trip. Tickets are booked, bags are packed, anxiety about whether we’ve missed anything is once again running rampant. We’ve had to postpone this four times owing to factors outside our control, so we can’t believe it’s finally happening. And yes, before you ask, three more things thing popped up, but we finally had the gumption to push back. I’m not sure what the dynamic will be over the next few weeks. Maybe I’ll continue blogging every day or so, or it might be a week in between posts while I dust off our hiking boots and explore Japan again. See you again soon :). By Ruben Schade in Sydney, 2025-04-19.

yesterday 5 votes
How I Learned About Great Literature from Comic Books

Over the course of 169 issues, Classics Illustrated gave me a taste for mind-expanding reading that lasted a lifetime

2 days ago 2 votes